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THE  CO-OPERATION 

OF  THE 

RETAIL  LIQUOR  TRADE 


SALOON  REGULATION 


The  Co-operation  of  the  Retail  Liquor  Trade 


IN 

Saloon  Regulation 


The  Massachusetts  Liquor  League  is  an  organization  of  the  leading 
men  in  the  retail  liquor  business. 

Their  10th  Annual  Convention,  which  was  held  in  Fall  River, 
Massachusetts,  June  3rd  and  4th,  1914,  was  of  an  unusually  high 
character. 

Among  the  speakers  at  the  banquet  were  Mr.  Hugh  F.  Fox,  of  New 
York,  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Brewers’  Association,  and  Mr. 
James  R.  Nicholson,  President  of  the  Harvard  Brewing  Company,  of 
Lowell,  who  was  formerly  President  of  the  Brewers’  Association  of 
Massachusetts,  is  a Trustee  of  the  United  States  Brewers’  Association, 
and  was  chosen  to  represent  the  New  England  States  on  the 
Joint  Harmony  Committee  of  wholesalers,  retailers,  brewers  and  wine 
makers. 

On  the  cover  of  the  official  program  of  the  Convention,  the  following 
retailer’s  creed  was  published: 

V 

“I  see  that  all  who  enter  my  store  shall  receive  fair  and  courteous 
treatment  and  that  every  effort  is  made  to  provide  for  their  comfort 
and  convenience  and  to  meet  their  wants. 

I do  not  misrepresent  or  permit  any  of  my  employees  to  mis- 
represent any  goods  I have  for  sale. 

I give  careful  attention  to  the  neatness  and  wholesomeness  of 
my  place  of  business. 


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I sell  no  liquor  to  any  man  who  is  intoxicated  or  in  a condition 
approaching  that  state. 

I allow  no  man  to  patronize  my  place  whose  family  I have  reason 
to  believe  will  suffer  any  privation  because  he  spends^  too  much 
money  for  liquor. 

I refuse  to  sell  liquor  to  any  man  that  I know  is  addicted  to 
over-indulgence. 

I conduct  my  business  in  strict  accordance  with  the  laws,  ordinances, 
rules  and  regulations  applying  thereto.” 

MR.  FOX  emphasized  the  importance  to  the  retailer  of  “putting 
his  house  in  order.”  His  address,  in  part,  was  as  follows: 

“I  am  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  of  addressing  you  because  I know 
that  I can  count  upon  your  sympathetic  interest  and  co-operation  in 
any  practical  plan  for  the  betterment  of  conditions  in  the  retail  liquor 
trade. 

“Stability  of  business  conditions  is  necessary  to  induce  men  of 
character  and  responsibility  to  engage  in  any  particular  industry, 
and  while  the  conditions  in  the  retail  liquor  trade  in  Massachusetts 
are  not  altogether  stable,  they  are  certainly  better  than  the  con- 
ditions existing  in  many  other  States.  You  have  too,  the  advantage 
of  living  in  a State  whose  citizens  are  not  easily  stampeded  by 
sensational  agitators,  and  you  are  especially  fortunate  in  the  cautious 
attitude  of  the  newspapers  of  Massachusetts  in  regard  to  radical 
reforms. 

“The  success  of  the  no-license  movement  depends  upon  the  organized 
exploitation  of  the  sentiment  that  prevails  in  many  parts  of  the  country 
against  the  saloon.  This  is  a time  for  self-examination;  for  a rigorous 
self-searching  which  will  lay  bare  the  very  root  of  the  evils  that  exist. 
In  Massachusetts,  and  in  Fall  River  particularly,  the  letter  of  the  license 
law  is  generally  observed— that  is  to  say,  saloons  are  closed  on  Sundays 
and  during  the  prescribed  closing  hours;  screens  have  been  abolished  so 
that  the  interior  can  be  seen  from  the  street;  minors  are  not  served, 
gambling  is  not  permitted,  and  saloons  are  not  a rendezvous  for 
disreputable  women.  The  Massachusetts  Liquor  League  is  therefore 
in  a position  to  take  an  advanced  stand  and  to  send  forth  a ringing 


4 


message  to  the  retailers,  to  the  brewers  and  the  wholesalers  in  other 
States. 

The  Saloon  a Public  Necessity. 

“I  am  not  able  to  agree  with  those  who  think  that  the  saloon  must  go. 
On  the  contrary  I believe  firmly  that  the  saloon  must  and  will  stay. 
It  may  change  in  form;  it  can  in  many  respects  be  much  improved;  it 
is  possible  that  in  many  saloons  the  standing  bar  can  be  abolished,  and 
that  family  resorts  will  be  substituted  in  which  all  kinds  of  beverages 
and  viands  will  be  served,  but  the  city  saloon  exists  and  persists  because 
of  its  social  function.  It  is  the  one  place  which  is  truly  and  wholly 
democratic;  the  only  place  where  one  man  is  as  good  as  another,  and 
where,  for  a nickel,  any  man  can  have  the  privilege  of  being  a patron 
with  no  liabilities  or  responsibilities  except  to  observe  the  unwritten 
law  of  common  decency.  The  freedom  of  the  city  is  an  empty  phrase, 
but  the  freedom  of  the  saloon  is  an  absolutely  real  thing.  I doubt 
whether  even  a family  resort  can  take  its  place  entirely,  though,  of 
course,  the  more  family  resorts  we  have,  the  better. 

The  World’s  Work. 

“Most  of  the  work  of  the  world  is  done  by  manual  laborers.  In  the 
cities  and  towns  of  the  United  States  the  professional  classes  and  the  men 
whose  duties  are  administrative  or  clerical  constitute  only  20  per  cent, 
of  the  male  adults;  that  is  to  say  there  are  only  20  per  cent,  of  the  men 
in  the  centers  of  our  population  who  can  keep  their  hands  and  faces 
fairly  clean  while  they  are  going  about  the  business  of  life.  The  other 
80  per  cent,  literally  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  and 
they  get  themselves  more  or  less  ‘mussed  up’  in  the  process.  Is  there 
any  public  place  except  the  saloon  where  such  men  can  feel  perfectly 
at  home?  The  people  who  maintain  the  various  uplift  parlors  seem  to 
assume  that  a pure  heart  goes  with  clean  hands.  Their  attitude  is  so 
superior,  that  the  shirt-sleeve-brigade  feels  thoroughly  out  of  place  and 
therefore  uncomfortable. 

“My  observation  is  that  many  working  men  would  not  object  to  the 
abolition  of  the  horizontal  bar,  but  it  is  a great  convenience  to  the  ‘rush’ 
type  of  American  citizen,  who  allows  himself  a minute’s  margin  for 
refreshments  on  his  way  to  the  train  in  the  evening.  There  are  several 
hundred  thousand  men  of  this  type  in  New  York  City  alone,  and  the 


5 


saloon  is  the  only  place  where  such  a man  can  get  satisfactory  and 
instantaneous  service.  The  lunch  counters,  soda  fountains,  dairy 
restaurants,  etc.,  do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  compete  with  the  saloon  in 
quick  and  competent  service.  In  the  commuter  cafes  the  standing  bar 
can  never  be  abolished. 

“The  point  I have  in  mind  is  that  the  practical  saloon  reformer  must 
study  such  conditions,  before  he  undertakes  to  make  any  changes. 
For  example,  Bishop  Potter’s  saloon  failed  principally  because  it  was 
located  in  the  wholesale  dry  goods  district,  and  had  no  large  resident 
class  to  cater  to  in  the  neighborhood. 

Muncipal  Authorities  Co-operate. 

“I  want  to  make  an  appeal  for  co-operation  on  the  part  of  municipal 
authorities  with  the  leading  people  in  the  retail  liquor  trade.  The 
con.  mon-sense  thing  to  do  for  the  men  who  administer  a regulatory  law, 
is  to  work  with  the  men  who  come  under  their  jurisdiction.  Dr.  Alsberg, 
the  present  head  of  the  Federal  Board  of  Food  and  Drug  Inspection,  has 
followed  this  course  with  great  success,  and  pure  food  laws  are  being 
more  generally  observed  than  ever  before.  In  the  city  of  New  York 
the  new  Health  Commissioner,  Dr.  Goldwater,  has  appointed  an  advisory 
council  of  men  and  women  who  know  something  about  the  health  prob- 
lem. I happen  to  be  on  the  food  inspection  committee  of  this  council. 
At  a recent  meeting,  which  was  called  to  take  up  the  question  of  pro- 
tecting foods  against  exposure  and  contamination,  the  grocers,  butchers, 
bakers,  fish-men,  and  others  were  brought  into  consultation;  they  were 
appealed  to  from  the  standpoint  of  enlightened  self-interest  as  well  as 
public  welfare,  and  responded  splendidly.  Not  only  will  this  result 
in  a practical  working  code,  but  the  labors  of  the  Health  Department 
will  be  very  much  lightened  by  the  co-operation  of  the  vendors.  This 
is  the  modern  way  of  doing  things  in  England  and  Germany  and  it  is 
beginning  to  be  followed  by  the  best  type  of  men  in  our  American  public 
service. 

“Why  not  try  it  on  the  saloon  problem?  Why  not  make  the  organized 
retailers,  the  allies  of  the  local  government? 

Prohibition  Idea  Unpopular. 

“The  American  Leader  of  May  28th,  1914,  has  an  editorial  by  Mr. 
Charles  Nagel,  Ex-Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  which  is  in  effect 


6 


an  appeal  to  the  trade  to  put  its  house  in  order.  Mr.  Nagel  believes 
that  the  great  body  of  men  and  women  in  this  country  is  unwilling  to 
support  prohibition,  but  is  at  the  same  time  out  of  patience  with  some  of 
the  conditions  which  frequently  obtain  in  the  liquor  business.  Begin- 
ning with  the  brewers,  he  points  out  that  they  have  always  been  earnest 
advocates  of  pure  food  laws  and  that  ‘so  far  as  the  ingredients  and 
methods  of  production  are  concerned,  breweries  may  well  challenge 
comparison  with  most  concerns  that  provide  us  with  the  food  and  deli- 
cacies of  daily  consumption.’  He  also  shows  that  there  is  hardly  any 
other  line  of  business  which  has  been  so  free  from  combinations  in 
restraint  of  trade  and  that  in  fact  unrestrained  competition  is  largely 
responsible  for  the  conditions  which  have  brought  about  the  persistent 
campaign  for  prohibition.  In  short,  Mr.  Nagel  believes  that  the  cause 
for  the  opposition  is  not  inherent  in  the  liquor  business  itself  and  that 
‘public  protest  points  with  unerring  precision  to  disreputable  saloons 
as  the  real  offenders.’  Admitting  that  the  evil  is  exaggerated  and  that 
wholesale  denunciation  is  unfair,  Mr.  Nagel  says  that  ‘so  long  as  dis- 
reputable saloons  are  permitted  to  exist,  the  whole  trade  will  have  to 
carry  the  burden.’ 

“The  pertinent  question  is,  as  Mr.  Nagel  says:  ‘what  does  a correction 
involve,  and  who  shall  move  to  bring  it  about?’  It  involves  such  a 
change  in  the  character  of  resorts  that  they  will  be  accepted  as  aids  to 
peace  and  security,  and  never  as  menaces  to  good  order.  A business 
which  is  dependent  upon  the  granting  of  a special  license,  should  re- 
ciprocate by  supporting  the  authority  to.  which  it  has  to  look  for  its 
right  to  exist. 


Temperate  Tavern  League. 

“Can  we  not  go  even  further  and  make  the  saloon  itself  an  instrument 
for  true  temperance?  I appeal  to  the  Massachusetts  Liquoi  League  to 
give  this  movement  a start  by  organizing  a Temperate  Tavern  League 
for  its  members. 

“How  shall  we  go  about  it?  Let  me  see  if  I cannot  put  the  matter 
concretely  in  the  form  of  a declaration  which  can  be  printed  and  posted 
conspicuously  in  every  saloon  and  cafe  whose  proprietor  is  willing  to 
be  included  in  this  Honor  Roll. 


7 


THE  TEMPERATE  TAVERN  LEAGUE 


STANDS  FOR 

REGULATION— MODERATION— CLEANLINESS— ORDER 

WE  SELL  ALL  KINDS  OF  BEVERAGES 

DRINK  MODERATELY 


NO  LIQUOR  SOLD  TO  MINORS 
NO  LIQUOR  SOLD  TO  DRUNKARDS 
NO  GAMBLING  ALLOWED 
DISREPUTABLE  WOMEN  NOT  ADMITTED 


KEEP  THE  SIDE-WALK  CLEAR  AND  CLEAN 
NO  LOUNGING  ALLOWED 


THIS  PLACE  IS  CLOSED  DURING  PROHIBITED  HOURS 


This  is  a Place  of  Public  Resort  and  must  be  run  right 
WE  WANT  YOUR  HELP  to  keep  it  above  reproach 

“The  first  step  is  to  create  an  esprit  de  corps  within  the  trade  itself, 
which  will  be  so  strong  that  it  will  dominate  the  sentiment  of  the  whole 
body.  But  of  course  your  declaration  will  not  amount  to  very  much 
unless  your  organization  backs  it  up  persistently  in  a practical  way. 
I believe  that  this  can  best  be  accomplished  by  employing  men  for  the 
purpose,  who  will  correspond  to  the  walking  delegates  of  a labor  organi- 
zation or  to  the  inspectors  of  the  Health  Department.  It  should  be  the 
duty  of  these  men  to  report  week  by  week  upon  the  character  and 
conduct  of  each  place  in  their  district.  They  should  be  so  instructed 
that  they  can  assist  the  saloon-keeper  in  matters  of  sanitation,  showing 


8 


him  how  to  keep  his  pipes  clean  and  his  beer  pumps  and  refrigerating 
apparatus  in  good  working  order. 

“I  can  recall  certain  places  that  are  thoroughly  offensive  from  the 
outside — empty  beer  kegs  draining  their  stale  dregs  on  the  sidewalk, 
the  air  foul  with  the  odor,  while  flies  settle  in  the  gutter  and  carry  con- 
tagion to  the  neighborhood.  The  saloon,  like  any  other  public  purveying 
establishment,  ought  to  look  and  smel]  sweet  and  clean,  inside  and 
outside. 

The  Pennsylvania  Way 

“In  Pennsylvania  the  brewers,  wholesalers  and  retailers  have  gotten 
together  and  have  organized  half  a dozen  county  associations  for  the 
express  purpose  of  bettering  conditions.  Among  other  things  they  have 
a complaint  committee  of  attorneys  and  other  prominent  citizens  who 
receive  and  investigate  complaints  made  either  by  members  of  the 
association  or  by  citizens,  and  the  complaint  committee  acts  as  a dis- 
ciplinary body.  If  a complaint  is  justified  they  give  the  offender  a 
short  time  in  which  to  clean  up  the  business  or  sell  out,  and  put  him  on 
probation,  subject  to  good  behavior.  If  this  does  not  work,  or  if  the 
offense  is  repeated,  the  complaint  committee  brings  the  matter  officially 
before  the  licensing  judge.  The  same  principle  can  be  carried  out  in 
any  part  of  the  country  though  the  details  will  vary  necessarily  according 
to  the  licensing  laws. 

Our  Case  in  the  Peopled  Hands 

“In  conclusion  let  me  say  that  the  very  fact  that  prohibition  is  being 
forced  upon  the  people  as  a national  issue,  gives  us  the  opportunity  to 
get  a real  hearing  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  places  a new  responsibility 
upon  us.  In-so-far  as  we  meet  the  issue  fairly  and  squarely,  not  merely 
from  our  selfish  trade  standpoint,  but  with  full  recognition  of  the  public’s 
interest,  we  can  count  on  a fair  hearing.  I believe  that  people  expect 
us  to  stand  up  and  state  frankly  and  fearlessly  the  reason  for  the  faith 
that  is  in  us,  but  we  must  justify  our  faith  by  our  works.  Our  leader- 
ship in  this  contest  must  be  based  on  sincerity,"  and  the  desire  to  have 
the  sale  of  liquor  surrounded  by  all  possible  safeguards,  for  the  welfare 
of  the  community  and  the  individual. 

“Let  us  convince  the  public  that  we  are  thoroughly  in  earnest;  that  we 
mean  to  play  fair,  and  show  by  our  actions  and  utterances  that  we  our- 
selves are  temperate  in  thought,  word  and  deed.  Let  us  match  our 


9 


moderation,  our  courtesy,  our  fairness  and  our  truthfulness  against  the 
violence,  the  arrogance,  the  intolerance  and  the  distortions  of  our  op- 
ponents. If  we  can  lift  this  discussion  to  a higher  plane,  and  can  prove 
that  we  have  proper  regard  for  legal  authority  and  for  the  public,  we  can 
rest  our  case  in  confidence  upon  its  merits.” 

MR.  NICHOLSON  spoke  from  the  same  viewpoint  as  Mr.  Fox.  He 
said  in  part : 

‘‘I  think  that  many  of  you  fail  to  realize  what  you  can  do  in  the  line 
of  constructive  work,  the  opportunity  for  real  service  to  your  fellowmen 
that  is  offered  to  you  and  the  power  that  is  yours,  if  you  will  but  avail 
yourselves  of  it,  of  improving  the  standards  of  living  among  the  citizen- 
ship of  this  Commonwealth  of  ours. 

“The  liquor  business  is  distinguished  from  all  others  by  a social  char- 
acteristic that  brings  the  customer  and  the  dealer  into  closer  personal 
relationship  than  is  found  between  any  other  retailer  and  his  trade. 

“Men  linger  with  you  somewhat  in  their  purchasing  and  discuss  with 
you  and  your  associates  and  employees  the  problems  of  the  day  and 
their  individual  cares  and  troubles. 

“In  this  relationship  lies  an  opportunity  for  service  that  many  of  you 
are  grasping  and  all  of  you  should  grasp.  One  who  failed  to  recognize 
his  opportunities  might  take  the  position  that  his  responsibility  ended 
when  he  had  supplied  his  customer  with  what  he  demanded  or  what 
seemed  to  please  him  in  merchandise  and  service  and  surroundings, 
but  one  who  was  in  touch  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  would  feel  that  he 
had  a responsibility  above  and  beyond  this  that  embraces  an  attempt 
on  his  part  to  direct  the  tastes  and  the  habits  of  his  patrons  along  the 
best  possible  lines. 

“The  problem  that  confronts  you  in  this  respect  is  similar  to  the  prob- 
lem that  confronts  the  clergy  and  the  press,  a problem  that  each  clergy- 
man and  each  editor  must  solve  for  himself;  whether  he  will  give  to  the 
people  with  whom  he  is  in  contact  the  things  that  they  seem  to  want  or 
whether  he  will  give  them  what  his  best  judgment  tells  him  they  ought 
to  have. 

“Chester  S.  Lord,  long  editor  of  the  New  York  Sun , recently  asked, 
‘Is  the  magazine  editor  or  the  newspaper  editor  to  print  the  things  the 
people  should  read  for  their  instruction  and  general  betterment,  or  is 
he  to  give  them  what  they  seek  to  read  for  their  amusement  only  ? Every 
editor  knows  that  the  more  details  of  sin,  vice  and  crime  you  cram  into 


10 


a newspaper  the  more  copies  of  that  newspaper  will  be  sold,  and  every 
editor  knows  that  the  most  subtle  temptation  that  ever  beset  him  is 
the  temptation  to  print  the  things  that  should  not  be  printed,  and  that 
temptation  is  more  acute  because  he  knows  the  people  want  to  read  them.’ 

“I  am  sure  that  we  all  have  more  respect  for  and  recognize  as  a finer 
force  in  the  community  those  editors  who  offer  their  readers  the  best 
thoughts  and  those  pulpit  orators  who  attempt  to  carry  their  listeners 
along  the  right  lines  without  resort  to  sensationalism  or  exaggeration, 
and  so  for  you,  my  friends,  let  me  suggest  the  better  way  rather  than 
the  easier  way. 

“Let  me  urge  you  not  to  be  content  to  be  merely  a dispenser  of  liquor 
refreshments  but  to  be  that  power  for  good  in  the  community  that  your 
business  gives  you  an  exceptional  opportunity  to  be. 

“Your  customers  come  to  you  not  alone  for  refreshments  but  also  for 
that  social  intercourse  that  some  one  has  said  is  to  mankind  what'  showers 
and  dews  are  to  a countryside,  adding  that  without  it  the  hearts  of  men 
grow  arid,  dry  and  desolate. 

“My  friends,  make  certain  that  the  social  intercourse  that  may  be 
enjoyed  in  your  place  is  of  the  right,  the  helpful  sort. 

“If  the  discussion  be  of  sports  let  it  be  of  honest,  manly  sports  and  not 
of  tricky  or  of  brutal  sports,  that  your  patrons  may  develop  a love  of  the 
former  and  a dislike  for  the  latter. 

“If  the  conversation  be  of  art,  let  it  be  confined  to  what  is  best  in  art 
and  let  the  pictures  on  your  walls  impress  those  who  visit  you  that  there 
is  no  place  in  a Massachusetts  saloon  for  the  vulgar  or  the  suggestive 
in  art. 

“If  stories  are  being  told,  see  to  it  that  they  are  clean  and  proper 
that  you  may  help  your  customers  to  realize  that  it  is  weak  wit  that  de- 
pends on  obscenity  or  vulgarity  and  that  profanity  is  the  refuge  of  a 
weakling  and  is  both  unnecessary  and  distasteful  to  the  manly  man. 

“And  then,  in  the  matter  of  the  use  of  those  things  you  have  for  sale, 
do  not  underestimate  your  responsibility  or  your  opportunity.  Your 
example  and  suggestion  have  great  power  and  should  be  shaped  so  as 
to  be  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  those  who  come  under  their  influence. 

“Do  not  fail  always  to  remember  that  there  would  be  no  liquor  problem 
were  it  not  for  the  excessive  drinker  and  determine  to  do  your  part  in 
an  effort  to  see  that  there  are  no  drinkers  but  moderate  drinkers. 

“You  have  a proper  pride  in  your  business  and  in  your  products,  and 
it  should  be  your  aim  to  see  that  the  former  is  conducted  in  such  a manner 


11 


that  it  is  a helpful  force  in  your  community  and  that  the  latter  are  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  proper  persons  and  that  they  are  properly  used  after 
they  have  come  into  their  possession. 

“An  old-time  English  inn-keeper  had  the  right  idea  when  he  placed 
prominently  in  his  hostelry  a sign  which  read: 

GOOD  ADVICE 

COME  FREQUENTLY  DRINK  MODERATELY 

PAY  HONORABLY  BE  GOOD  COMPANY 

PART  FRIENDLY  GO  HOME  QUIETLY 

“Let  me  urge  you  to  emulate  his  example  and  to  use  the  influence 
you  have  that  the  Massachusetts  saloons  and  liquor  stores  and  hotels 
may  be  recognized  as  a power  for  good  and  that  the  products  you  have 
to  dispense  may  offer  no  problems  through  abuse  but  may  be  only  what 
Nature 'designed  them  to  be,  an  inspiration  and  a solace  and  a blessin; 
to  mankind.” 


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